They may walk around with the swagger of a 32-game home
unbeaten streak and the bravado of a team with the title of defending
champions, but make no mistake about it: RSL are in trouble entering the second
leg of their playoff series against FC Dallas.

It’s the manager’s job to inject positivity into his side
after an adverse result and Jason Kreis did his duty in the locker
room after Saturday’s 2-1 loss in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals. There was still plenty of optimism to go around in defeat, but it's all that RSL have to hang their hats on.

The Claret-and-Cobalt left Pizza Hut Park knowing they delivered
FCD the strongest of uppercuts, and it still wasn’t enough. After taking a fifth-minute lead, RSL proceeded to harass the home team with an asphyxiating
pressing like few have all season. The blow to FCD's morale was evident.

But it wasn’t enough to bury the Hoops when they were at
their most vulnerable. And that should have Real Salt Lake worried.

On top of
that, a red card will keep Kreis’ talismanic playmaker, Javier Morales, out of the second leg after. And if that wasn't enough, they allowed FC Dallas a magic moment the likes of which memorable playoff
runs are made.

Before Saturday, RSL
drew first blood 17 times this season in MLS, and only the Houston Dynamo came back to win after two penalty kick gifts from defender Jamison Olave.

This weekend, it was FCD's turn to do the unthinkable on the heels of two straight losses to close out the regular season. But thanks to Saturday’s
playoff comeback over RSL, Schellas Hyndman’s team can now start to believe
again.

On the field, Kreis was disappointed in how RSL tactically
managed the 1-0 lead. He felt they were once again fatigued and players committed
too many errors.

The wounds of the many battles of 2010 continued to take a
toll on the champs. Forward Alvaro Saborio was forced out of the match
and midfielder Will Johnson did not start because of a hamstring injury. [inline_node:322274]

Kreis says his team needs energy to play their style of soccer
and when they don’t have it, it spells trouble. Who's to say they will find that
energy next weekend in the return leg?

In sports, the mainstream opinion is often swayed by the
flavor of the week. And everyone has been enamored by the RSL story this year,
their winning mentality and their style of play. But they are not the
invincible team some have made them out to be.

There is nothing that diminishes the mystique of a seemingly invincible team like
familiarity, and FC Dallas have now met Real Salt Lake twice in the last 14
days. The Texas club believes RSL’s breakthrough back on Oct. 16 at Rio Tinto was
the product of a fluke goal when Ned Grabavoy outjumped Ugo Ihemelu to score on
a header.

“We’re just as confident that we can go in there and win,”
FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez said after Saturday’s match. “I don’t think
we had our best game in Salt Lake a couple of weeks ago, but I think we still
could’ve had a result … We’re going to go in there and look for a win. We have
enough confidence in this team, not because of what happened today [2-1 win], but because of the success we’ve had all year.”

Should RSL suffer elimination, it will surely not erase what
has been a successful season for them.

And there would be no shame to losing to FC Dallas in the
playoffs. Not only did FCD become the only team to beat RSL twice this season,
but they also carry the same mantle of positive, attacking soccer that RSL has held
all year -- a team which plays the same on the road as it does at home.

This year, it just might be FCD’s turn to take the baton from RSL as the darlings of American soccer.

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